Current collector



CURRENT COLLECTOR Filed Jan. 4, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l 12 m-11W W 94 86'-68 4Q wnuzssss: INVENTOR 44 William Schaalce.

ATTORNE .Ffy7 B Nov. 11, 1941. w.scHAAKE 2,262,374

Y ,GURREN'I COLLECTOR Filed Jan. v4, 1939 '2 sl eets sheet 2 YWITNESSES: INVENTOR William Scbadke. Q ,U- )1 I 0 ATTORN Patented Nov.11, 194i j UNITED STATES PAT 'FFI E I ,CURRENT COLLECTOR William.Schaake, Pittsburgh, 1a.. assignor to jWestinghouse' Electric, &Manufacturing Company, EastflPittsburgh, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania 1 Application January; 4., 1939, Serial o. g am:

. 1 8 Claims. 1 (o1.. '191 --59.1) My invention relates, generallygtocurrenticollectors, and it has 'reference,jin particular, to

a trolley pole head for usewith electrically? operated vehicles, such,for example, as trolley busses and the like.

The objectof my invention, generallystated, A

is to provide a trolley pole headof simple and durable construction andwhich may be economically manufactured and maintained in service.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide for removablysecuring a current collector shoe .to a swivel member of a trolleygpolehead and mount the swivel member on the body member of the pole head soas to provide ior movementof the shoe relative to the;body memher in aplurality of planes within a limited horizontal angle. 1

Another. object of my invention. is tomount a current collector shoe ona. support memberso as to provide for oscillationof the current col- 2.

lector shoe in a plurality oiplaneswith respect to the support member,without usingspherical bearing surfaces. l

A further object of myinvention is to provide for pivotally mounting aswivelfnember on the support stem. of a .trolley pole head, and

. secure a removable current collector )shoe. to

the swivel memberin such manner as to retain a renewable carbon insertmemberin the PC01- lector shoe in-operating relation therewith;

A still further object of my}.invention. .is to her, on whichit is:pivotally mounted, by utilizing an arcuate retaining member.

Still another object of my inventionis. toprovide for securing a looselypositioned insert 1 memberin operating relation with a removable currentcollector shoe through the engagement of the current collector shoewithva support member. 1

Another object -.of my invention is to provide maintain acurrentcollector .shoe in operating. relation with a trolley pole headsupport mem.-

:IVIV of Fig; 3,

in detail the construction shoe,

stem,

punching from which the body Fig. 2 is an end elevation view of thetrolley.

pole head shown inFig. 1, 1

Fig. 3 is a" plan member, m m

Fig.1; is a sectional view taken'along the line Fig. 5 isaplan View of abearingmember which is interposed. between the swivel member and thesupport stem, 1 a q 1 Fig.6. is a sectional view taken along the lineVI-V I of Fig. 5, Fig.7 is a planview of the trolley polehead shown inFigs; 1 and2,

. Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line form of support stemand intermediatev bearing.

member construction, and

Fig. 14 illustrates a further modification of a support stem andintermediate bearing member construction. v Referring particularly toFigs; 1 and 2;of the drawings, the reference numeral l0 denotesgenerallya trolley pole head comprising a body member l2 which is provided withasocket porfor securing awloosely positioned carbon insert member in aremovable I current collector shoe and protecting the sides of thecurrent collector shoe fromundue wear. 1

Other objects will, in part, .be obvious, andwill, in part, appearhereinafter.

For a complete understandingof the. nature and scope of myinvention,reference may be ac had to the followingdetaileddescription, taken A inconnection with the accompanying drawings,

' m which:

Figure 1 is a sideelevation viewof a trollet pole-head embodying. myinvention;

tion M, for supporting the body member on a trolley pole or a trolleypoleextension l5, and

a support extension l8 to which asupport stem 20 may be secured. Aswivel member. 22 is mounted on the support stem 20 so as'tobe movablerelative thereto in a plurality of planes within a limited verticalangle for supporting a currentfcollector shoe 24 which is disposed toengage a trolley wire26. A suitable shunt member 28 may be provided forconnecting the swivel member 22 to a terminal connectionjll on the bodymemberlof the. pole head, for'making. electrical connection with thecollector shoel24.

V The details of the construction of the body member 12 of thepoleheadmaybe, clearly un derstood by referring particularlyto Figs. 1,8 and 12. of. the drawings. body memberl 2 is preferably of a fabricatedcon As. there illustrated, the

.view of a swivel ret aining a sectional viewtalren alo the ne pp t Stanon; i

elevationalviewof thesupport member of the struction, formed, forexample, by performing suitable bending and welding operations on asheet metal punching 3| of substantially the shape shown in Fig. 12. Forexample, the punching 3| may be bent about the axis a,a to provide asubstantially U-shaped channel of which the lip portions 32 may be bentinwardly and joined together in any suitable manner, such as, forexample, by welding, so as to provide the socket portion l4. Theprojections 34 of the punching 3| may be bent inwardly at the ends andwelded together to form the support extension l8. Suitable strips ofsheet metal 36 and 38 may be secured to the top and bottom of thesupport extension l8, preferably by welding, and aligned openings 48 and4|, respectively, provided therein for receiving the support stem 28. Abushing 42 may be interposed between the strips 36 and 38 and weldedthereto for reenforcing the support extension and facilitating thesecuring of the stem 28 therein. Means such as the bolts 43 may beprovided for securing the trolley pole extension |6 in the socketportion M of the body member, and a suitable hook member 44 may beprovided for attaching a trolley pole cable or rope to the pole head.

Figs. 10 and 11 of the drawings show the details of construction of thesupport stem 28, which may comprise an elongated body portion 45 havinga flattened section 46 with shoulder portions 41 adjacent to the lowerend, corresponding to the flattened sides of the opening 4| of thesupport extension l8. The shoulder portions 41 are disposed to provide asuitable seating surface for the stem and the flattened section 46prevents rotation of the stem 28 relative to the body member of the polehead. A threaded portion 48 is provided at the end of the stem forreceiving a nut 49 for rigidly securing the stem in the supportextension IS.

The upper end of the suport stem 28 may comprise a flanged head 58havinga substantially flat bearing surface on the top thereof. A portionof the periphery of the flanged head 50 may be cut away on the frontside to provide a peripheral edge 52 of reduced radius, terminating inshoulder portions 53 at each side thereof, which serve a purpose whichwill hereinafter be explained in detail.

The swivelmember 22, which is disposed to be supported by the supportstem 28 so as to be movable relative thereto in a plurality ofplanes, ispreferably cup-shaped, as shown most clearly in Figs. '7, 8 and 9,having an elongated opening 56 in the bottom thereof, through which thesupport stem 28 projects so as to permit a rocking movement of theswivel 22 with respect to the stem about a horizontal axis transverse tothe longitudinal axis of the collector shoe 24. Depending lip portions58 along the sides of the opening 56 are provided for preventing rockingmovement of the swivel member 22 relative to the stem 28 about ahorizontal axis which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shoe.Interior arcuate bearing surfaces 68 are provided adjacent to and alongthe sides of the opening 56.

A cover plate 62, having an arcuate bearin surface .64 on the undersidethereof,. of such a radius of curvatureas to have the same center ofoscillation as the interior arcuate bearing surfaces 68 of the swivelmember, isdisposed to be secured to the top of the swivelmember bysuitable means such asthe bolts 66. Means, such as, for example, theL-shaped clamp members .18, may be positioned on the cover plate 62, ateach side thereof,

for engaging the sides of the collector shoe 24 and removably securingit to the swivel member 22. The clamp members 18, may, for example, besecured by bolts 12 which are threaded into nuts I4, welded to the lowerside of the cover plate 62. Projections 15 may be provided on the lowerside of the members 18 for positioning in suitable openings in the coverplate 62, so as to provide a fulcrum for obtaining a hinge action whenthe bolts 12 are tightened to Wedge the clamp members 18 against theshoe 24. Suitable openings I6 may be provided in the cover plate 62 forensuring the correct alignment of the shoe 24 when itis positionedthereon.

In order to mount the swivel member 22 on the support stem 28 so that itmay oscillate in a plurality of planes relative to the body member l2,without utilizing spherical bearing surfaces, an intermediate bearingmember 78 may be provided. Referring particularly to Figs. 5, 6, 8 and9, it may be seen that according to a preferred construction theintermediate bearing member 18 which is disposed to be positioned on thestem 28, is provided with a cupped bearing recess 88 on the lower sidethereof for receiving the flanged head 58 of the support stem 28 so thatthe intermediate bearing member may be rotatably supported on thebearing surface 5| of the support stem, and an arcuate bearing groove 82on the upper side for engagement with the arcuate bearing surface 64 ofthe swivel member cover plate 62 for effecting oscillation of the swivelmember 22 upon the intermediate bearing memher.

A retaining member 84 may be provided for maintaining the swivel memberon which the current collector shoe is mounted in operating relationwith the support stem, comprising, for example, as illustrated in Figs.3, 4, 8 and 9, a washer with a central opening 86 for receiving the bodymember 45 of the support stem 28, a flat bearing surface on the upperside for engaging the under surface of the flanged head 5| of thesupport stem, and an arcuate bearing surface 88 on the lower side forengaging the interior bearing surfaces 68 of the swivel member.

It has been found desirable, in order to facilitate the positioning ofthe current collector shoe 24 in engagement with the trolley wire 26, tolimit the degree of rotation of the current collector shoe 24 about avertical axis. I prefer to attain this result by limiting the amount ofrotation of the intermediate bearing member 18 relative to the stem 28.To this end, the intermediate bearing member 18 and the retaining member84 may be secured together, after they have been placed in position onthe head 58 of the support stem 28, by means such as the screws 98, andsuitable means such as the stop pin 92 positioned in aligned openings 93and 94 in the intermediate bearing member 18 and the retaining member84, respectively, so as to move in the cutaway periphery portion 52 ofthe flanged head and engage the shoulder portions 53 thereof when theintermediate bearing member and retaining member have rotated throughthe desirable horizontal angle on either side of a central position. Theswivel member 22, being supported by the intermediate bearing .member18, is thus also limited in its degree of rotation about a verticalaxis.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2, 8 and 9 of the drawings, it may beseen that th current collector shoe ,24 comprises, generally, anelongated body member having upstanding side lips 96; whichzdefine agroove :for receivingzthe trolley wire 26. The outersides' of the-shoe24wmay be provided with outwardlyw sloping portions. I adjacent to thebase adapted to .be engaged by the clamp I members 'I0for effecting aWedging actiontherewith to facilitate positioning of 'the shoe on theswivel member. Suitable means,

respect to the swivel. c.

In order to facilitate positioning aninsertmemher in the collector shoeso that itmay be readily renewed, a centrally disposed opening I85 ispro- "vided I through -.the .body member of the shoe 24.

This opening is, preferably, slightly smaller on the groove orupper sideof the shoe than on the lower side, the side walls' of theopening, for

example, being slightly tapered, so that a removable insert I96, thesides of which are preferably tapered also, maybewpositioned thereinfrom the lower side. The insert I06 is preferably of a carbonaceousmaterial, so as to not only lubricate the trolley wire and reduce thewear on both the p current collector shoe and the wire,but also providea renewable non-sparking collector shoe contact surface, a feature whichis highly desirable where alloy shoes of aluminum or bronze are used. Inorder to facilitat the positioning of I the removable insert memberi06in the opening I05 of the shoe andensurera proper fit therein, aretaining clip I08 maybe provided, comprising, for example, as shownparticularly in Figs. .8

and 9, acharinel shaped member of resilient material; suchas phosphorbronze sheet, fortakingv up any clearance between .the insert and the:shoe. "I'heretaining clip I08 is preferably positioned about theinsertflmember I 00 so that the upstanding sides IIO thereofwaredisposedbetween thexinsertmember I06 and the sidewalls of the openingI05 in the collector shoe24 and project .above "the sides 0f the insertmember I06. ThBSidGS III] of the retaining clip I08 maybesuitablydeformed or slightly dished, as

shown, so as to effectively takeup any side play between the insertI06'andthe sidewalls of the opening I05, sothat the insert maybeproperly positioned therein. The. projecting sides II'0 may also beutilized for protecting the upstanding such as the projections I02 maybe provided on I the lower side of the shoe 24 for positioning in theopenings .16 of the swivel cover plate 62 to ensurethe correct alignmentof the shoe with of. screws, rllo andvthe stop pin 92 inserted inxthealigned-openings '93and; 94, thereof. The stem istheninserted throughthe opening 560i the swivelw22, so that the bearing surface 88 of thearcuateretaining member engagesthe interior arcuate. bearing surfaces 60of theqswivel. The

supportvstem is positionedv in the supportiextension I8 of the bodymember I2 and secured therein. by means of the nut 49. The cover plate62 may then-be secured to the swivel 22 by means of :the "bolts 66, withthe arcuate; bearing surface 04 positioned in the arcuatebearinggroove82 of the intermediate bearing member I8. The swivel member :22 is thanfree to rock in the arcuate bearing groove 82 of the intermediatebearing member "I8 and rotat'e with the interthe bolts 12, the collectorshoe 24 and the removable insert I-06 may besecured in operatingrelation on the swivel 22, which is free to move about horizontal angle.

a plurality of horizontalaxes, within a limited An alternate form ofconstruction forsupport- 0 ing the swivel member 22 is illustratedinFig. 13,

the intermediate bearing member II8, having an arcuate bearing grooveII9 on the upper side thereof, and a cupped recess I20 on the lower sidewith the depending edge I24 thereof cut away to provide shoulders I26 isdisposed to be rotatably positioned on the head of a stem I 28. Means,such as the pin I29 whichprojects from the stem I28, is provided forengaging the shoulders I26 so as to limit the, degree of rotation of theintermediatebearing member with the axis of the stem. A washer I30,having an arcuate lower -bearing surface I32 is utilized for retainingasides 90 of the collector shoe from side wear.

This increasesigreatly the life-0f the shoe, par ticularly wherecollector .shoescof :a relatively soft aluminum alloy or bronze areused.

It has furtherbeen found desirable to impart aresiliency, to the bottomof theretaining clip I 00 ,by, r for example, providing deformed tongueportions H2 in thebottom thereof. Thus, when I the insert 'ltti ispositioned in the current collector shoe with the retainingclip I08 inposition aboutit, and the: current collector :shoe is i then seouredto:thecover plate 62 by d men of the clamping members I0, the-resilienttongues N2 of: the retaining clip I08 will press against the cover plate62 and urge. the insert member I06 upwardly, thus ensuring a positiveelectrical connection between the. insert member I06 and the shoe "24,regardless. of manufacturing variations in the dimension of thesemembers.

In assembling the pole head, the arcuate retaining member 84 is firstpositioned on the support stem 20 with the arcuate surface 88 down-.upstanding sides I38 thereof cutaway to provide ward, and theintermediate bearing member 18 I is positioned on top of the flangedhead 50. These .members may then be secured together by means "Fig. 8 ofthe drawings.

swivel member in operating'relation with the '-stem I28 in substantiallythe same manner as hereinbefore described in connection with thepreferred embodiment of the invention.

A further modification of the intermediate bearing member and supportstem construction is illustrated in, Fig.:14, where the referencenumeral I34 denotes a support stem having a cupped bearing member I36 atits upper end with the shoulder portions I40 at each side. Theintermediate bearing member I42 has a substantially cylindrical boss I44on the lower side, which is disposed to fit in the cuppedmember I36 ofthe stern for rotation therein. Astop, comprising for example: aprojecting lug or stop pin I46, is provided for engaging the shoulder,portions I40 of the cupped bearing recess I36, thus limiting the degreeof rotation of thefbearing member I42 relative tothe stem. I

Anarcuate groove I48 is provided on the upper side of the bearingmember, for engaging the arcuate bearing surface 'of a swivel coverplate, in substantially the same manner as shown in The rotatablearcuate retaining washer I50 is disposed to be positioned on the supportstem I34 for retaining a swivel 22 in operating relation with thesupport stem as hereinbefore described in connection with thepreferredembodiment of the invention.

From the above detailed description and the accompanying drawings, itmay be understood that in my invention I have provided a trolley polehead having a current collector shoe on the body member thereof foruniversal movement, without necessitating the use of spherical bearingsurfaces, and have made provision in a simple and effective manner forlimiting the rotation of the current collector shoe about a verticalaxis, so that the current collector shoe may readily be positioned on anoverhead trolley wire. By securing the collector shoe to a swivel, andat the same time retaining a removable insert member in the removablecurrent collector shoe, in the manner therein described and illustrated,I have greatly simplified the construction of the swivel and collectorshoe, and have facilitated removal of the current collector shoe and/orthe insert member, thereby reducing maintenance costs. By utilizing aretaining clip which also protects the current collector shoe againstundue side wear, I have provided for increasing the life of the shoe andhave additionally reduced the cost of maintenance of the pole head.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction, anddifferent embodiments of the invention may be made without departingfrom the spirit thereof, it is intended that all the matter contained inthe above description or shown in the accompanying drawings, shall beconsidered as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

1. A trolley pole head comprising, a body member, a swivel membersupported by the body member in pivotal relation thereto, a currentcollector shoe having a removable insert member loosely positioned in arecess therein from the lower side mounted on the swivel member forengaging a trolley conductor, and means associated with the swivelmember for securing the insert member in fixed relation to the shoe byengaging the collector shoe to secure the swivel member and thecollector shoe in operating relation and urge the insert member into therecess in operating relation with the collector shoe.

2. A pole head for an electric vehicle compris- L ing, a body member, afixed support stem supported thereby, an intermediate bearing memberrotatably associated with the support stem, a

swivel member disposed in oscillative relation F with the intermediatemember, a current 001- lector shoe having a removable insert memberpositioned on the swivel member for engaging a trolley wire, and meansfor securing the collector shoe and insert member in fixed relation withthe swivel member and each other.

3. A current collecting device comprising, a body member havinga supportengaging socket, a support stem secured to the body member in asubstantially vertical position, a bearing member rotatably disposedupon the support stem for limited rotation about a substantiallyvertical axis and provided with an arcuate bearing surface on the upperside, a swivel member having an arcuate bearing surface engaging thearcuate bearing surface of the bearing member, an arcuate retainingmember secured to the lower side of the bearing member for maintainingthe swivel member in operating relation with the support stem member,and a current collector shoe removably secured to the swivel member.

4. A collector shoe comprising, a longitudinally grooved body memberhaving an opening therethrough, an insert member positioned in theopening, and' resilient retaining means having upstanding side portionsinterposed between the insert member and the side walls of the bodymember and a central portion on the lower side of the insert memberdeformed to provide biasing means for positioning the insert member inthe collector shoe.

5. A current collector shoe comprising, a longitudinally grooved bodymember of a relatively soft metal having an opening therethrough fromthe lower side, a carbon insert member loosely positioned in the openingto provide a conductor engaging surface in the groove, and meanscomprising a resilient member disposed about the insert member toposition the insert in the opening and provide a renewable wear surfacefor protecting the side walls of the groove from wear.

6. The combination, in a current collecting device, of a support membercomprising a body member removably secured to the support member havingan opening therethrough from the lower side, and a renewable insertmember free- 1y positioned in the opening from the lower side, aretaining member associated therewith having a resilient portion on atleast the lower side, said insert member being secured in fixed relationto the body member by means of the said resilient portion engaging thesupport member and the insert member.

7. A current collector comprising, a swivel member having an uppersurface portion mounted on a support for universal movement, a currentcollector shoe disposed to be positioned on the swivel member having abody member with a longitudinal groove on the upper side and an openingtherethrough from the lower side, said opening being larger on the lowerside than on the upper side, an insert positionable in the opening fromthe lower side, and means including an adjustable clamp member securedto the swivel member operable to effect clamping engagement with theshoe member to so clamp it to the swivel member that the upper surfaceportion thereof urges the insert member upwardly into the opening intofixed relation with the body member.

8. A current collector comprising, a swivel member having an uppersurface portion mounted on a support for universal movement, a slidershoe having a body portion with a tapered openin therethrough from thelower side, a removable insert loosely positioned in the opening fromthe lower side, and projecting side portions adjacent the lower side ofsaid body portion, and means including an adjustable clamp membersecured to the swivel member adjustable to engage the projecting sideportions and so clamp the shoe against the swivel member that the saidupper surface portion of the swivel member urges the insert upwardlyinto the opening so as to secure the insert in fixed relation in theopening.

WILLIAM SCI-IAAKE.

